


Fill in the Gaps

by wildandflowering



Category: Messiah Project - All Media Types
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, M/M, Slice of Life, flirty souma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-23 03:47:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6103808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildandflowering/pseuds/wildandflowering
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Souma learns of a distressing lack of experience in Shuusuke's past.  And how he decides to remedy this.</p><p>Set before <i>Hakugin no Shou</i>, but spoiler-free for the proceeding productions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fill in the Gaps

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lightningwaltz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightningwaltz/gifts).



> So this was literally a spur-of-the-moment creation since I got off work early and realized there were still a few hours left of lightningwaltz's birthday (even though this is getting posted late because what is finishing on time). And because there's not nearly enough Souma and Shuusuke fic around. Just a bit of fun amid all the other amazing, if emotionally-heavy, birthday gifts to a wonderful friend and writer. Happy Birthday Steph!

Souma barely even registered how the Nanny he had acquired for Haku tugged heavily at his hand – double-bagged, thankfully – because his short conversation with Shuusuke had laid bare quite a bombshell.

“You’ve never watched crappy movies just for fun.”

On the other end, his voice muted, but otherwise unaffected, Shuusuke continued. “I fail to see how this is important in the grand scheme of things.”

Souma scoffed, not even trying to hide his offense. “The grand scheme? No, no, no, you don’t get it. Screw the grand scheme, we’re talking about the here and now.” He set off down the street, in the opposite direction of the Church, a new goal in mind now that he had accomplished his errands for Haku. He even started to swing the bag a little joyfully as he walked. “Watching really bad movies isn’t important in any great sense, but it’s the _experience_ that you need before you die.”

“Souma, I’m quite content with the way I amuse myself.”

“Yeah, yeah, watching documentaries is all well and good.” He paused, giving time for his next statement to really hit home. “If you want a one-way ticket to Snoozeville.”

“ _Souma_.”

“I’m getting popcorn, too. And if you don’t willingly eat it, I’ll sit by, ready to throw some in your mouth every time you talk.” A drawn-out sigh greeted Souma’s ears and he grinned when no worded answer immediately followed. “Great. So what’s your opinion on horror?” So engrossed in this plan was he, that he passed up the used video shop and had to quickly backtrack.

“I haven’t watched much.”

He opened the door, the bell above his head happily greeting him.

Souma could practically hear the way Shuusuke’s brows knit together. Maybe he even reached up to adjust his glasses. “…You’re actually going through with this.”

“Yep. And that’s fine. This means you definitely won’t have seen any of these. Makes shopping easier.” Glancing around the small store he noticed the cashier – just a teenager, probably no more than seventeen – leaning against the counter and raised his bag-laden hand, freeing a couple fingers in a friendly sort of salute. The kid had looked up to acknowledge Souma’s presence, but said nothing in reply, either because he just didn’t care enough or he actually respected the fact that Souma had his own conversation going. It was fine. More importantly, of course, was the horror section not far from his current position and he rounded the racks of genre-sorted movies until he stood in front of the real treasure.

Some titles were pretty generic: _The Human Scorpion_ , _It Came from Hell_ , and _Tales of the Nightmare_ (the last proudly displaying a cover with a misshapen horse, its eyes glowing red, because what other color screams evil?) among them. Then there were foreign choices, but reading subtitles defeated the purpose of watching a movie, in Souma’s opinion. 

And then, there, flanked by covers with blood-splattered and scantily-clad girls, Souma found the gold. Or, well, maybe it was bronze, since the plan _was_ to find something terribly wonderful.

 _Zombies vs. Vampires vs. Spies_ Perfect. He snatched up the case and weaved his way back to the counter. He set down the movie and the bag of Nanny, then reached for his wallet.

“So Shuusuke. Did you ever invite a girl over and put on something even _sort of_ scary just to have the excuse of holding her when she got scared?”

“ _No_. I had to focus on preparing for law school.”

Souma groaned. “Okay. That’s fine. I’ll just have to fill in that part of the experience, too.”

“Don’t.”

Supporting the phone between his shoulder and his ear so he could use both hands to pull out some cash, Souma grinned and pitched his voice higher. “I promise I’ll scream at all the right parts.” He held out a couple bills to the cashier, who just stared at him for a couple seconds before shaking his head and taking the money to conclude the transaction.

“That’s not necessary.” 

“It is absolutely necessary.”

“I thought you were going to throw popcorn at me.”

“Who says I can’t multitask for you, babe?” The cashier gathered up Souma’s change, then paused. Souma winked at him, but held out his hand for the change. The cashier gladly dropped it, then pushed the movie toward Souma, silently telling him to just…stop. Get out. Something not in his general vicinity. _Because this customer was weird._

Shuusuke, of course, was understandably confused, being deprived of any visuals on Souma’s end. “ _Babe_?”

“Yep.” He grabbed all his belongings again and headed out. “Anyway, I’ll be back soon. Gotta get that popcorn, then drop Haku’s juice off first. Don’t run off!” It came as no surprise when Shuusuke exhaled and ended the call.

Two hours and thirty-eight minutes later found Souma and Shuusuke lying side-by-side on Souma’s bed, pillows propped up against the wall to make it a little more comfortable, the movie’s credits rolling by on the smaller computer screen. Popcorn littered the bedspread and the floor – and some kernels had found their way to the computer desk, thrown in a fit of disbelief that spies wouldn’t know how to outwit a _zombie_ of all things – but some still remained in the bowl that Souma kept in his lap.

Neither spoke for a moment, then Shuusuke gently elbowed Souma. “You know what?”

Souma turned his head. “Hm?”

“I can’t believe you spent actual money on that.”

“Well, _technically_ , it’s Sakura’s money. Which is the government’s funding. So they not only bought delicious popcorn and Haku’s much-needed sustenance, but also this staple of Japanese entertainment, this thrilling…thrilling…thing…”

“You didn’t even scream once.”

Souma leaned heavily on Shuusuke’s shoulder. “Because it wasn’t actually scary, just rage-inducing.”

“I was promised screaming. And clinging to me for dear life.”

“Yeah, yeah, screaming, have a rain check.” He grabbed more popcorn and raised it to his mouth, then stopped. And threw it at Shuusuke’s face, who hunched up in an attempt to evade the attack. “Wait a second, I never said anything about clinging.”

Frowning, Shuusuke brushed the food off of his chest.

“You _have_ done this before!”

“I never said that. When do I get screaming?”

Oh, no. Shuusuke wouldn’t be getting away that easily. Souma set the bowl aside and quickly straddled his Messiah’s lap, his arms wrapping around Shuusuke’s shoulders. “I need details. I _demand_ details.”

There had been a time when this closeness would have been unthinkable. But the experiences shared between the two of them had knocked down their walls to more manageable heights and the desire for each other’s company eventually grew stronger than their need for space, both physical and emotional. Really, in the end, it was more satisfying this way.

But also, Souma realized when Shuusuke answered only with a raised eyebrow and a quirk of his lips, kind of infuriating. “Shuusuke…” he whined.

Hands reached up to rest on Souma’s arms. “You’re halfway there. I’ll count this as clinging.”

“What movie did you watch? Did it end badly? Did you fall off the sofa? Is that why you won’t talk about it?”

Shuusuke’s hands smoothed farther up Souma’s arms until they rested on his shoulders. “You don’t have to shriek or anything, just give me some of that falsetto. Like you did earlier.”

This would be a hard nut to crack. Souma leaned forward, their faces just inches apart. “You want screaming?” Then, he angled his head even closer, his lips parting so his breath could ghost over Shuusuke’s own, but then he moved to whisper in his ear. “If you wait long enough, Eiri’s bound to get going.”

Shuusuke’s hands dug harshly into Souma’s shoulders, earning him the sound of a quick inhale. “And this is where we call a truce.”

Souma leaned back, pursing his lips. “Temporarily?”

Releasing Souma’s shoulders, he nodded once. “Temporarily.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“All in due time.”

Souma reached over for the bowl of popcorn, dragging it closer. “Wanna finish this up?” A smile spread over Shuusuke’s mouth and he opened his mouth expectantly. They both knew how this would end.

Needless to say, popcorn in varying moldy states continued to find its way to corners and odd spots for a few weeks after.


End file.
